


Assurance

by tansyheart



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:35:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25792192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tansyheart/pseuds/tansyheart
Summary: After SkyClan has temporarily settled in with ThunderClan, Leafstar wakes from a restless sleep and goes for a much-needed walk.
Relationships: Billystorm/Echosong/Leafdapple (Warriors), Leafstar/Billystorm/Echosong (Warriors)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	Assurance

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILERS MENTIONED FOR: (AVoS #1-#3) Apprentice Quest, Thunder and Shadow, Shattered Sky; Hawkwing's Journey
> 
> hey!! this was a little behind-the-scenes/"missing scene" thing i wrote back in 2017, sometime after A Vision of Shadows: Shattered Sky released. i was inspired to think about Leafstar's thoughts and feelings about finally reaching the lake after all the hardships SkyClan went thru to get there. i looked at this again the other night and thought it was decent enough to maybe share here, cuz i made this account to share little Warriors stories anyway, haha!
> 
> sorry for the extreme paragraph indents - it helps me read better, but it was copy/pasted from an old sta.sh where this happened in the transition.
> 
> the art piece of Leafstar is also mine, drawn back in 2017 as a companion piece for the story.

Leafstar jerked awake in a makeshift den fashioned by tendrils of bramble with the screeches of cats ringing, faintly, in her ears. Beyond her lay a land shrouded in shadowy pelts, trees arching toward the sky like snakes wanting a taste of the stars. For a moment, Leafstar felt herself drift, shifting in her nest and closing her eyes to picture the gorge her Clan once called home. But the dark brown of the cliffs at moonhigh and the crystal-clear surface of the meeting pool by the Clanrock whisked from her view as though some cat had breathed upon them, and Leafstar flinched into full consciousness once more. An owl hooting outside and the snores of other cats nearby reminded her of a fact she hadn’t come to terms with just yet: she was resting outside ThunderClan’s camp with the bedraggled remains of SkyClan. Her Clan.

_We made it. That’s right._ Leafstar readjusted herself on her belly with her forelegs tucked under her, turning to catch glimpses of her thin, sleeping Clanmates. She let out a sigh, a vast exhalation of breath that felt like one she’d been holding for moons. _We’re safe._ She thought of the stars and glanced up, but the thick canopies overhead blocked much of her view, save for a few stray glittering pieces of ice smiling from the holes between leaves. _And we are no longer alone._

Finally, after moons of heartache, hardship, and diminishing faith, the cats of modern SkyClan had reunited with the four Clans they were meant to be with. Well, more like reunited with ThunderClan, the home of Firestar, but further introductions would come later. Leafstar felt old worries that her more hopeful persona fussed over at the start of the journey: who led the other three Clans? would they accept SkyClan among them? what if the other Clans judged SkyClan for its kittypet heritage? _But then, many of their kittypet ancestors had descended from ancient SkyClan cats,_ she reminded herself, thinking of Cherrytail and Sparrowpelt, _and it isn’t as though kittypets are bad…_ Her shoulders sagged as a memory of Billystorm swam across her thoughts, then she shook her head.

“You need a walk,” Leafstar murmured to herself, huffing with mild embarrassment as she shoved herself onto her paws. Her eyelids, though heavy, itched with the need to stay open, and her legs twitched with restlessness. She didn’t want to offend Bramblestar by treading aimlessly around his Clan’s territory, but she excused herself by promising to stick close to SkyClan’s nests and sent a silent apology to Bramblestar’s dream-self. Careful to avoid brushing the tails and paws of her Clanmates, Leafstar stepped from the den into the open and stretched, languid, teasing the stiffness from her legs and shaking energy into her body. Finally, she slipped around the base of a towering cedar tree and began her stroll.

ThunderClan’s forest was beautiful—it was the first thing Leafstar had noticed upon arrival. Even in the darkness, she pinpointed swaths of mosses blanketing the roots of trees, ferns cascading over clearings, leaves of all shapes and colors littering the floor. The moonlight filtered through the growth overhead and painted gentle beams of blue everywhere Leafstar looked, providing a sense of peace within her that hadn’t really blossomed since the day Echosong had rejoined the ragtag SkyClan group a couple moons ago with news of StarClan’s guidance.

The thought gave her pause. Had Echosong really been dead that long? Leafstar suddenly put on a burst of speed, searching for the end of the trees, for the absence of cover and darkness that she needed so desperately.

There! On her right shoulder she glimpsed an oval of sky marring the shadows of the woods. Turning rapidly on her paws, Leafstar raced for the gap, the sounds of her paws crushing leaves and grass being the only noise present. Finally she broke from the forest and thrust her muzzle up, jaws parted to drink in the cool night air that enveloped her now that she was in the open. It even chilled her a bit, swirling like gentle waves under her fur and prickling her skin. But the sky—oh, the sky was clear and dappled with shades of black and blue and there were stars everywhere. Leafstar nearly stumbled in her attempt to halt mid-run, momentarily dizzying her view of Silverpelt overhead, and when she stopped she gaped, emotions battling within her gut like they haven’t in ages. “StarClan,” she breathed, hearing her voice crack, laughing when she didn’t care, “oh, StarClan, you’re here. I feel you.” _I haven’t felt happier than I do now,_ she continued in her head, finally lowering her nose and sitting back on her haunches to recollect herself. _The stars were always there, but StarClan… it felt like_ you _weren’t there, for so long._

Just above her eyelids, it seemed like something glimmered, drawing her attention back to the stars that shone so close together. _Like one eternal Gathering,_ she thought to herself with the faintest amusement. _Is that what you are? Five Clans, all together._

Leafstar beamed at the ranks of her ancestors, and then slowly erased the expression. “Did SkyClan follow us to these skies?” she wondered aloud, and then without warning she watched memory upon memory fight for the front seat in her brain: Billystorm curled up beside her, Echosong on the other side; Sharpclaw standing erect near the Clanrock ( _And what a fine leader he would have made,_ Leafstar reflected somberly); Billystorm tussling with their kits; Sharpclaw fighting alongside Leafstar, a rat caught in his jaws; a younger Echosong with the world in her eyes and a collar around her neck…

She dropped her head, feeling as though a rock had lodged its way into Leafstar’s throat. She couldn’t speak—not without every thought and emotion raging up from inside—so she didn’t. _I miss them _,__ she heard her inner voice whisper. _Why did I have to make this journey by myself?_

 _They helped you lead SkyClan to a new home,_ said her brain.

_Those three_ were _my home._

“Goodness, the conflictions,” she muttered out loud, feigning a self-depreciative sort of amusement with a chuckle. “I am embarrassed to talk or even think about these issues even when there’s no cat around. Listening to myself is exhausting, you know.”

If Leafstar really expected the stars to respond, to engage in some conversation, she was sorely mistaken. _Mouse-brain. You’re sleep-deprived._

Leafstar fixed her posture, drew in a long breath, and let it out. She stopped shaking (though she hadn’t realized she was), tucked her tail over her paws, and closed her eyes. For what felt like a long time, she sat, hunched, below the glittery eyes of Silverpelt, the breezes rippling the stripes on her tabby-and-white pelt and brushing the stalks of browning grass against her flanks and cheeks.

And then a piece of grass ever-so-gently touched her shoulder, startling Leafstar back into semi-full alertness. Despite how long it had felt, the land around her was still dark, an almost-half-moon shining overhead as though it hadn’t moved.

“Leafstar.”

Leafstar whipped around, shocked onto all fours, to face the starry silhouette of a cat she thought she wouldn’t see again.

“Firestar?” she ventured when she found her voice. This spirit definitely looked it: the coat of warm orange sat upon a sturdy frame with large ears and newleaf-green eyes. All at once, feelings of nostalgia for the early days of SkyClan shook Leafstar into sitting down again. “Firestar, it _is_ you,” she murmured. The wispy form of ThunderClan’s previous leader took a seat beside her, though he appeared much more dignified. “I’m sorry you of all cats have to see me like this.”

“I’ve had my fair share of breakdowns,” Firestar assured her lightheartedly. “You’re going to be all right, I promise you that, Leafstar. And I’m not the only one here seeing you ‘like this,’ either. Much to your chagrin, I’m sure.”

_That_ stole Leafstar’s attention. She jerked her head up to meet Firestar’s joyful gaze before watching with a strangled sort of silence as… as… _Sandstorm_ stepped from the cover of grass into the open, followed by the loves of Leafstar’s life (lives?), Billystorm and Echosong, and her strong, faithful old deputy, Sharpclaw.

Sandstorm pushed into Firestar with a nuzzle as she took her place beside him; Billystorm strode to Leafstar’s other side and pressed close to her, though Leafstar didn’t think he could get close enough; Echosong settled in front of Billystorm, and Sharpclaw remained standing partially near Firestar, his eyes narrow but content, _happy_ , his tail curled across his spine. All at once, Leafstar felt the chill of the night vanish without a trace.

“Firestar,” she choked out, unable to stop her overjoyed countenance from becoming evident, “please let me stay this way, right here, for the rest of my lives. Hawkwing’s a good deputy, he’ll be fine.”

Firestar purred in reply. “Unfortunately I can’t do that, Leafstar.”

“I know. I was kidding, a bit.” Leafstar pressed her cheek against Billystorm’s fiercely, then scooted against him as much as she could to make room on her other flank. “Echosong, get in here. Sharpclaw, StarClan help you if you don’t greet me with a nose bump.”

“This is the most immature I’ve seen you act, Leafstar,” Sharpclaw responded as Echosong rose to squeeze in between Firestar and Leafstar. SkyClan’s old medicine cat twined her tail around Leafstar’s with a delighted purr that sent all the warmth of the sun fluttering inside Leafstar’s chest. She heard Sharpclaw sigh in pretend exasperation. “But you’re happy, and I missed you. That does indeed warrant a nose bump.” Sharpclaw stepped toward Leafstar and touched his nose to hers.

For a long, delightful moment, Leafstar crouched with Billystorm nuzzling her on one side and Echosong gently licking her cheek on the other, while Sharpclaw regarded her with such pride Leafstar felt _she_ was his successor and he was her predecessor. “I missed all of you,” she mumbled; her eyes were wet with emotion, but she feared if she closed them, everyone would disappear. “I miss you still. The Clan misses you, needs you all…”

“We miss them, too,” Echosong replied in all loving softness, and Leafstar turned to marvel in the medicine cat’s clean, shining silver tabby fur that had last looked so shrunken and wilted on her deathbed. “We miss them dearly.”

“But you’re always in the stars,” Leafstar sighed, glancing away. “You’re always watching over us. You can see us all the time. We can’t do the same.”

“You know this.” Billystorm responded this time, resting his chin on her back, just below her shoulders. “It’s the risk every cat takes, you know. We all fight to achieve a goal, and some die trying.”

“Just because you can’t see us doesn’t mean we’re not there,” Echosong added.

“Yes.” Sharpclaw crouched to catch Leafstar’s gaze, his expression belying his amusement. “After all, you didn’t see us listening to your confused monologue.”

Fur lifted along Leafstar’s back in mock offense as she shifted her weight onto one shoulder and swatted one forepaw at Sharpclaw’s head. “I don’t monologue! I only say snippets out loud.” She stuck her nose in the air at her previous deputy as he bounced back, snorting defiantly. “There’s a difference, and it’s a habit for when I’m stressed out, thank you very much.”

Leafstar settled again, sighing in bliss. She turned her head left to lay it on Echosong’s back, as Billystorm was doing. “Have you seen Stormheart?” she asked them quietly, a memory of her kits’ warrior ceremony manifesting in her mind. It had been the battle in the gorge that took Stormheart’s life, but surely her spirit would have followed Sharpclaw’s and Billystorm’s to the lake territories? “And Firefern?”

“Of course,” Billystorm answered, resting his tail across her haunches. “Stormheart walked with me. She is proud of you for taking such… brokenness in our Clan and fixing it all on your own.”

“She doesn’t regret being lost so early in the fight,” Echosong offered. She had stopped licking Leafstar’s cheek and now had her head resting between her forepaws. “She was guarding the entrance, and she gave a proper warning. If it weren’t for that, more lives would have been lost.”

“And Firefern was happy to see me,” Billystorm meowed; his rumbly sort of purr vibrated against Leafstar’s ribs, eliciting a purr from her in turn. “I wasn’t quite so happy to see _her_ —not so soon.”

“We wouldn’t have gotten far without her.” Leafstar tipped her head to survey the stars above. “She stepped in place for Echosong for a little while, to take care of sick cats. She ended up contracting the illness herself.”

“I heard.”

The group fell quiet again, relishing each other’s company, glowing with the constant reminder that SkyClan had survived the world’s misfortunes a second time in its history. Leafstar thought again how fervently she prayed she could remain nestled between Billystorm and Echosong forever. Then Firestar disturbed the silence by rising to his paws with Sandstorm and coughing.

“Ready to head out, Sharpclaw?” Firestar queried, stepping to the other ginger tom’s side.

“Yes, Firestar.” Sharpclaw stood and dipped his head low to the shivering grass at Leafstar. “I’ll be seeing you, Leafstar.”

“You better.” Leafstar offered a smile at him before cocking her head at Sandstorm. “Where are you headed?”

Sandstorm gestured to the far-off distance with her tail. “We’re going to visit Cherrytail and Cloudmist,” she replied, then with an edge of excitement, “and we’re going back to the gorge to collect some lost souls.”

“I didn’t want to start the conversation off with it immediately, but some cats haven’t made it to the lake from where your StarClan was.” Firestar exhaled slowly. “I’m concerned. We’ve yet to find Frecklewish or any cat that survived Darktail’s invasion but died later on.” Leafstar flattened her ears at that, earning a sympathetic nudge from Echosong.

“Duskpaw initially just wanted to visit his mother,” Sharpclaw interjected, “but then Firestar _had_ to mention anything that could be read as an adventure in front of Duskpaw, and now that little furball wants to explore the whole world.” His eyes were narrowed again, all serious and brooding, but try as he might, Leafstar knew ‘irritation’ wasn’t something he often equated to his family.

“You all make StarClan sound fun,” Leafstar teased in an effort to lighten the topic of death. The inevitable fate of all cats was not strange to her—she had lost a couple lives already—but her throat felt strangled at the thought of Frecklewish and Mistfeather and the other cats who hadn’t returned. Even Darktail’s mangy group had found their way to the lake; her lost Clanmates had essentially been abandoned. _Some of SkyClan may still be alive out there,_ she sighed inwardly. _Please, keep them safe. Let them find their way home._

“It’s only fun if you don’t lie around all day,” Sandstorm responded with a wholehearted laugh. “Oh, some of the elders act like they still have joint aches. Me? I’m looking forward to a trek across skies.” She exchanged a look full of nostalgia with Firestar, a look that undoubtedly reflected the experiences of their journey to rebuild SkyClan from seasons and seasons ago.

Sharpclaw flicked his tail to hover above his haunches and dipped his head, again, in Leafstar’s direction. “I’ve got to get going,” he said almost apologetically, but with more authority. “To tell you the truth, I think I’m more anxious about this trip than Duskpaw.”

“Cherrytail is all right,” Leafstar mewed honestly. “She’s with Barley and Cloudmist. I’m sure they are living relaxed days.”

“Even so…” Sharpclaw faltered for the first time in his life, as it seemed to Leafstar. She understood. _He only wants to make sure his family is okay._ “Don’t leave Blossomheart out of the visit then,” she told him, “or Hawkwing. They both still think of you.” She paused, gazing fondly at her oldest friend. “Go well, Scratch.”

“You too, Leaf.” Sharpclaw flashed her a green-eyed look of gratitude before turning and disappearing into a thicker patch of grass. Sandstorm followed with a friendly wave of her tail at Leafstar and the others. For whatever reason, Firestar didn’t go after her. “I’ll catch up to them,” the old ThunderClan leader told Leafstar when she sent a questioning glance at him.

Cold air swam up Leafstar’s flanks as both Billystorm and Echosong stood up from where they’d been lying. Her heart jumped with them; she didn’t really want them to leave, but something in her gave her a feeling of finality, of reassurance and understanding. “I’m dreaming,” she said aloud. _This is the feeling I have when I’m about to wake up._

“You are.” Echosong confirmed her thoughts, bending her neck to nose Leafstar’s ear. “But this was real. I’m happy to have been with you again, Leafstar.”

“Me, too.” Billystorm licked her other ear and brushed his nose along her forehead. “We’ll never stop looking after you and after SkyClan,” he promised, turning to nod respectively at Firestar. “I never met you while you were rebuilding SkyClan, but word going around is you’re pretty fantastic. I hope to get to know you better.”

Firestar purred, and then cleared his throat as if embarrassed. “I would say I was only following the will of StarClan,” he said, “but even they didn’t particularly want to address the SkyClan issue. So in that case, thank you, Billystorm.”

“Be safe and lead well,” Echosong murmured, pressing her muzzle into Leafstar’s neck. Leafstar sighed wistfully as the fluffy she-cat pulled away, joined Billystorm and pressed against him. She fixed her eyes on Leafstar once more. “Look after Fidgetpaw for me. He has a lot of responsibility now, but he’s just a kit…”

“I will, Echo,” Leafstar replied and thought with satisfaction, _The_ Clan _will look after him, and teach him. Together._

Echosong let out a loud purr at the use of her old name and waved her tail, walking ahead of Billystorm into the distant fields. Leafstar stifled a giggle at Billystorm plaintively meowing, “She never calls me just Billy—why is that?” to Echosong before the two vanished from sight and earshot.

Finally, the only cat left was Firestar. The edges of the world were darkening with a dreamlike shadow, reminding Leafstar that dawn was probably breaking in the real world. “Is there something you have to tell me?” she asked Firestar, something heavy with anxiety sitting in her gut.

Firestar let out a sigh and shook his head. “Your road has always been so difficult,” he murmured with more genuine sympathy behind his mew than Leafstar expected. “I will never be able to shake off the burden that the Clans have been dismissing for years. SkyClan does not deserve to suffer.”

Her pulse quickening, Leafstar forced herself to her paws and widened her eyes at him. “Is more going to happen?” she insisted. She bit her tongue to stop herself from demanding like an impatient kit, _Hasn’t enough gone wrong for us already?_

“No… No, not that we’ve gotten word of.” Firestar stepped to her side and draped his tail across her back, urging her to sit again. “But it’s going to be hard here: territory placement, your traditions, the other Clans…”

“I know that,” Leafstar replied sharper than she intended. “I didn’t expect _easy_. I expected safety and belonging. We’re all Clan cats, and the other Clans will see it that way sooner or later. We just have to get rid of Darktail first, and then we can focus on where we fit in here.” She tried to push more anxiety away when Firestar didn’t respond immediately, and she continued, “I _know_ we’ll fit in here. Echosong knew just as much, too, and I won’t allow us to be pushed away again.

“Our traditions may not be commonplace but that’s what makes us SkyClan. We’ve had to survive and adapt, and we’ve done just that—pretty successfully, I might add. Every cat…” She thought suddenly of Curlypaw and Parsleyseed, two cats that had left SkyClan to live as kittypets and escape the everyday hardships SkyClan had been facing. _They were afraid, and… honestly, so was I. They can’t be blamed._ “Every cat fought at one point or another to get where we are now. I am proud of my Clan and I am ready to face the other four. Every cat has a calling in SkyClan, even rogues—“here she looked at Firestar with a big smile and thought of both Billystorm and Echosong, “—and kittypets.”

Firestar’s grin mirrored hers, and his expression seemed to expel warmth like the very thing he was named for. “I’ve never been happier to hear a cat voice the values I’d been working to impart on the Clans for so long.”

“And they’ll be imparted! It’s all because of you, Firestar,” Leafstar murmured, stepping back to half-kneel, half-crouch in front of the orange tom. “SkyClan will make you proud.”

“Don’t do that.” Firestar tipped Leafstar’s chin up with a gentle tap of a paw and dipped his starry head steeply to _her_ instead. All was beginning to fade but the crisp glow of his green eyes. “You took care of this Clan by yourself; you’ve already made me, and all of SkyClan’s ancestors, and all your friends and family proud.”

Leafstar woke to find herself still alone in the whispering grass, feeling more refreshed than she’d felt in seasons.


End file.
